Congratulations to
Karen Bowling & Karen Clark
who have been named our 2023 Library Heroes!
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| Karen Bowling, Smithfield Public Library Interim Director |
NOMINATION:
"Karen Bowling has been a fixture at the Smithfield public library as the children’s librarian for over 2 decades. In that time she has helped thousands of children develop a love for reading. It is clear that the children love Miss Karen, and anyone who subs for her can tell the exact moment a child notices that the adult at the desk is NOT Miss Karen: there is immediate alarm, sometimes a look of mistrust, but always a slight disappointment that the beating heart of the Smithfield Library is absent. If ever you have the chance to ride behind Miss Karen at the Smithfield Health Days Parade, the cheering and applause will make you feel like you are in the presence of an A-list celebrity. The children of Smithfield will actually ignore the thrown parade candy for the chance to wave and call out, “It’s Miss Karen!” With the sudden retirement of the former director, Karen became the interim director literally overnight, and has taken on the enormous task of fostering a sense of community space and welcome that has been missing from the Smithfield Library. Her former and current employees have this to say about her:
"Karen Bowling has been a fixture at the Smithfield public library as the children’s librarian for over 2 decades. In that time she has helped thousands of children develop a love for reading. It is clear that the children love Miss Karen, and anyone who subs for her can tell the exact moment a child notices that the adult at the desk is NOT Miss Karen: there is immediate alarm, sometimes a look of mistrust, but always a slight disappointment that the beating heart of the Smithfield Library is absent. If ever you have the chance to ride behind Miss Karen at the Smithfield Health Days Parade, the cheering and applause will make you feel like you are in the presence of an A-list celebrity. The children of Smithfield will actually ignore the thrown parade candy for the chance to wave and call out, “It’s Miss Karen!” With the sudden retirement of the former director, Karen became the interim director literally overnight, and has taken on the enormous task of fostering a sense of community space and welcome that has been missing from the Smithfield Library. Her former and current employees have this to say about her:
- Her goal has been to improve the library’s relationship with the citizens.
- She says patrons come first.
- She wants everyone to feel welcome.
- She wants programming for all ages.
- She has improved staff communication and understanding of what is most important.
- She has clearly defined staff roles.
- She is communicating with city and the library board so they know what is happening at the library.
- She’s always friendly and uplifting even when she has to deliver a hard truth.
- She wants this library to be a resource to our community for more than just books and other media.
"In other words, Karen has a love for her patrons, the ability to work with and inspire others, and
the vision of a library that is a place for all. She is a library hero."
NOMINATION:
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| Karen Clark, Logan Library Director |
"A hero to me is someone who takes a situation and can find solutions for the betterment of society. Karen became the director of Logan City Library in the middle of the long debate on whether or not Logan City needed a new library. The discussion had gone on for years, but it seemed that it just might happen under the new Mayor, Holly Daines.
"A hero to me is someone who takes a situation and can find solutions for the betterment of society. Karen became the director of Logan City Library in the middle of the long debate on whether or not Logan City needed a new library. The discussion had gone on for years, but it seemed that it just might happen under the new Mayor, Holly Daines. Karen spent hours working on what needed to happen to have the new library become a reality. Architects were hired, the library designs were being created. The one big problem was where do we build the library. Karen had many decisions to help make. The public was very vocal about what should happen. Things were coming together when the pandemic hit the world. City offices were closed, and the library was one of them. She had employees to think about along with the public.
"How do you keep a city library functioning when you have to close due to a pandemic. Through much
thought and discussion with knowledgeable people, a plan took place. Karen had already instituted a
curb pick-up service for patrons because the new hotel and parking became a nightmare. The library
immediately started this service for all patrons during the pandemic. They even started mailing books to
partons. Story-time went online, and the children's librarians made fun activity packets for children to pick up and do at home and other programs created via social media.
"These services that Karen and the Logan Library put into place to continue serving their patrons during
the forced pandemic closure without giving access to the building itself made it possible, finally, to decide on a course of action for the new library; to demolish the existing library and build in the same location, while serving the public from a temporary facility with limited access in much the same way as during the pandemic closure.
"Karen is truly a hero with all that she has had to deal with and has provided quality service to the people of Logan."
